Wednesday, December 02, 2009

"I will smash them one against the other, even parents against children, says the LORD. I will not let my pity or mercy or compassion keep me from destroying them." ~Jeremiah 13:12-14~

Did someone take the book of Jeremiah out of Mike Huckabee's bible? Poor Governor Huckabee. All those pardons guided by his faith might have finally caught up with him. Maurice Clemmons , -A-merry-ca's black bogeyman of the moment- was not the first person that Huckabee pardoned who went on to do some seriously f*&#%d up things, it's just that he has now become the most notorious.

I bet you never heard of Wayne Dumond or Glen Green. If you haven't don't feel bad. Most people outside of Arkansas haven't heard of them either. Like Clemmons, they were the beneficiaries of Huckabee's mercy. With a little prodding from his brothers in Christ, the good gov. made sure that these animals got back on the street because they were able to hustle the gov. and his friends into believing that they could change their spots.

I don't mean to pile on Mike Huckabee. Honesty, of all the GOP candidates who ran against his O ness, he seemed to be the most fundamentally decent. But I can't ignore the hypocrisy on the right. If you saw him [Huckabee] on Bill O'Reilly's show you saw how O'Reilly told him that he was not at fault for releasing these monsters to society, and that he was a stand up guy for even being on his show and talking about it. Huh? Are you kidding me? Imagine, for a minute, that Huckabee is a dumbocrat; do you think the reaction would be the same from our [right] wingnut friends? Of course it wouldn't; but such is the hypocrisy and spin that goes on when it comes to politics here in A-merry-ca.

Joe Conason writing forSalon.com doesn't like Mike Huckabee. This is what he wrote:

"During the 2008 campaign, Huckabee's arrogance and stupidity mostly escaped the full scrutiny of the national press corps, in part because his stint as a contender was so brief. But next time, if there is a next time, he should get no such free pass -- and his claims to divine guidance ought to be thoroughly debunked. "

Yes it should. And of course the problem with "divine guidance" is that we never know what the man upstairs is really planning. Sometimes it might not be in the best interest of us mortals. For example, right about now it's looking like he never wanted his humble servant, Mike Huckabee, to be president in the first place.

64 comments:

Be careful what you wish for. Yeah, the Huckster is/was a problem, but in retrospect he served a noble purpose. Without him, the Republican nomination would've gone to Mitt Romney, who is the most dangerous American politician I've ever seen or studied.

You don't see or hear anything from or about Romney right now, but trust me, that guy is going to be the 2012 nominee and he is going to be a VERY strong opponent against Obama. Ya heard it here first, Field. Just wait.

Romney is the logical conclusion of both the Republican Party and of American politics. He is a ruthless and sociopathic liar and thief. Imagine George W. Bush, but a lot smarter and with even less of a conscience, if that's even possible.

Romney in the White House is a deeply chilling thought. The single saving grace of the Southern Baptist wingnuts is that most of 'em despise Mormonism. But 2012 will put them in a quandary, because they'll have to choose between hatreds: Mormons vs. blacks.

My guess is that, when push comes to shove, they'll support Romney. I think Obama and the Democratic Party have their work cut out for them, to put it mildly. People ought to be afraid. Very afraid. The guy is like Dick Cheney, but younger and smoother.

Maurice killed Huckabee's presidential aspirations just as surely as he killed those four cops. I feel bad about the police officers but cannot say the same about the Huckster. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

As for Romney, I think that no matter how much the Republican base despise Obama they will not nominate a man who wears special holy underwear, their infatuation with Glenn Beck notwithstanding. It is a safe bet that one of the other GOP candidates will remind the goobers that Mormons are not "real christians", just like they said that a black man is not a "real American".

Gregory, if you look at the 2008 Republican primaries, you'll see that Huckabee was going nowhere until Romney won a couple of early primaries. That caused the Baptists to rally around him.

Huckabee wasn't strong enough to get the nomination, so the only one left standing was McCain. In 2012, I don't see who the Baptist candidate will be. Sarah Palin is too damaged.

Also, Romney has gained some big credentials with the wingnuts because it's the Mormons who have blocked gay marriage. They were behind the referendum defeats in CA and ME, and the recent blocking vote in the NY Senate. That'll go a long way with the Southern Baptists, who might hate Mormons and blacks, but who utterly despise gays with a fierce passion.

Don't write Romney off. He used 2008 as a practice round. He's the Terminator. He'll be back.

As much as I would like to declare this dude's 2012 aspirations dead in the water, I don't think that's the case. Y'all are forgetting something important here. The reason the Huckster did the pardons was "Christian forgiveness". All he has to do is explain his regret and that his motives were clean since he was following his "deep and abiding faith" blah, blah, blah and he is off the hook. He is already doing full-blast damage control on Radio Rwanda. I think he'll have a good shot to be the nominee in 2012 because Mormons are still looked upon as some kind of alien heathens by southern wingnuts.

The wingnuts are declaring Huckabee over 'n done with. Now, anyone who doesn't think that Romney's people are spreading that idea behind the scenes is (in my opinion, anyway) quite naive.

Look, in the 2008 campaign, Romney actually had his own push polling firm make anti-Mormon phone calls, disguised as McCain calls, to paid Romney campaign staffers, who then complained to the media about it.

Think about that one a second: A self-persecuting Mormon. It's an adult version of Tawana Brawley out there on the political stage. There is absolutely nothing that Romney won't do if he thinks it'll work for him, politically.

I am absolutely, positively no fan of Huckabee or any other Republican, for that matter. But Romney? Katie bar the door if that guy gets in. I used to say that Bush's people stole everything that wasn't nailed down, which is true. Romney will steal the floorboards, the foundation, the dirt, and the bedrock.

I've done business with Mormons, and when it comes to fraud everyone else is an amateurland.

BTW, Tawana Brawley had an excuse. She was young and overtly deranged. And Al Sharpton, her promoter? He has always been a bit player in a minstrel show, never to be taken seriously except as a TV guest.

But Romney? He is in a different category altogether. The guy is a big wheel, well on the way to billionaire status if not already there. I'm tellin' y'all, the man is stone cold psychopath. He makes Richard Nixon look like your favorite uncle.

I hate this. I hate how politicians will point fingers at each other for implementing a policy that in reality has provided repreive for tens of thousands of incarcerated people who have languished in jails, or whose sentences were ridiculously long. The reality is that thousands of people are pardoned or paroled early and do not go out and shoot people or commit more crimes.

We have, because of these same fucking politicians, some of the most horrid, punitive laws now. All in the name of getting tough on crime. They use fear and racism to get elected and continue to prey on our fears to justify a horribly, horribly UNJUST criminal system.

@Jody: Can I have your baby? No seriously, your comment sums up the way I felt about the way this dudes actions have been politicized. How about we talk about how republicans ran with the whole "super predator" talk about juveniles back in the 90's. Or how many people were thrown in prison under Bill Clinton's watch as a result of these neoconservatives and their tough on crime bullshit.

Yeah, and lets not talk about how many mentally ill people are languishing in prisons across the country... just because. What this guy did was beyond the pale. But let's be honest, he like so many others have mental problems and are not receiving care for it.

Field,I am surprised at you for jumping on this band wagon of making the state pardon process even more political than it is already. DuMond had been accused of raping a Clinton cousin in 1984 and was hog-tied and castrated before he even went to trial. Wayne Demond was convicted in 1984 of raping a cousin of Bill Cilnton’s. Her father was a part of the Arkansas democratic machine. He was castrated either shortly before arrest or pending that trial and his testicles sat in a jar on the desk of the Sheriff for years. Clemmons' excessive sentence was given as a teenager.Both spent a significant time in an Arkansas prison before their sentences were commuted. The commutations were the right things to do. I think it was the time spent in prison which was time severed probably without any mental or physical health treatment and more than likely very cruel treatment that produced their social incompatibility and mental instability.

Anon 1:49, elections are never just about the economy, but the returns always are. So yeah, I think the state of the economy in the spring of 2012 will determine who wins that year's presidential election.

Look, if I were emperor it wouldn't be that way. If I ran the show it would be a very different show. But like everyone else here, I'm a price taker, not a price maker.

Oh Christ, he doesn't have an illness. He has a shitpot full of money, sexual opportunity everywhere he looks, a stiff dick, and a genetic predisposition to spread it around. None of which factors have ever been noted for their conscience or restraint.

I think grinder overestimates Romney a bit (okay, alot). The reason his 08 campaign didn't go anywhere is because A) The Free Republic crowd didn't and still don't trust him for shit, and B) He ran his campaign like a complete political hack. Re-read his ridiculous speech to the 08 convention or look up some debate footage of dude. Mitt comes off like a guy solely interested in acting super-right-wing for banal political purposes because....he's a guy solely interested in acting super-right-wing for banal political purposes.

No, the real news from Huckabee's fall is that it clears the way for St. Sarah of Wasilla. The "Cash Rules Everything Around Me" Rethugs and most of the GOP "establishment" will back Romney as "the safe choice". But Free Republic, the dreaded Evangelicals and the Tea Baggers will back SARAH 1000% percent. Nate Silver thinks there will be a 3rd, as-of-yet unknown "Candidate X" who will rise up and make noise. The only way I see that happening is if Candidate X is basically Ron Paul 2.0 - a true paleoconservative isolationist and a 3rd party threat, but not a serious nomination contender.

Sarah vs. Mitt could go either way. Mitt will have to walk on eggshells - if he really slams Palin, she'll whip out the victim card ASAP, claim Mitt was insulting her Down Syndrome baby somehow, and beat him mercilessly with it. On the other hand, its just as likely that Sarah's petty, backbiting nature will doom her campaign's chances with bad chess moves.

The deciding factor will probably be how Obama looks in 2012. If he's weak, Mitt will get the nomination. If he's strong, they'll give it to Sarah and go out in a blaze of Barry Goldwater glory.

Oh and can we please dead this "Obama needs to fix the jobs situation" nonsense? Every economist will tell you "jobs are a lagging indicator". The economy will either recover quick enough to save Obama or it won't. There's no light switch. If you think there should be another stimulus now, say so, but this vague-ass "fix the jobs!" meme drives me up a wall.

Swiff, anything can happen. One of the relatively unexamined aspects of U.S. politics in the last 20 years is that we've had a lot of unknowns succeed. Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin (well at least she become the VP nominee, right?)

But in a Palin v Romney nomination race, I think Romney uses her as a floor mop, with the media's blessing. He'd position himself as the sane candidate, even though he'd just as batshit crazy as she is.

Stimulus? It was half as big as it should have been, and should have never included the tax cuts. There won't be a second one because the Democrats are going to cut their majorities cut in half or worse in 2010, owing to their fecklessness.

Oh and can we please dead this "Obama needs to fix the jobs situation" nonsense? Every economist will tell you "jobs are a lagging indicator".

Sure... that's why Paul Krugman and other leading economists have been all over the administration for having no plan on how to put people back to work? What about a second Works Progress Administration? What about a real investment in shovel ready programs? What about big incentives for companies who hire during the downturn? What about not going on bank regulation, which is prime to set us up for more future trouble? Allot of economists have pushed for many of those action.These things could have been done. This is no ordinary recession and the job indicators are likely to lag for years, right up until Obama's reelection campaign.

Oh, Rippa... I am amused and flattered!.... if you want my "baby" he is living in Tucson, AZ and is now 32yrs. old.... Or, the second "baby" is 29yrs old and living in Texas.... your pick! As for any future babies... grand babies is all I am looking for! :-)

Not saying Romney couldn't get elected but his odds of getting out of the GOP primaries are slim. His best hope is to be a VP and a default nominee because the GOP base isn't going to pick a Mormon if they have a choice. If Romney were a democrat he'd have a better chance but the odds would still be against him because anti-mormon prejudice is alive and well. The Mormon Church has American blood on its hands as well as a history of literal state control taken by force. The fear tactics would write themselves and already have for many evangelical GOPers.

As to Huckster, he was right to issue the pardon. It's too bad incidents like this make governors think twice about doing the right thing.

Turns out you're either a right wing nut or someone foolish enough to not just fall for their smears but recycle them.

From the wiki:

After Clinton was elected president, a right-wing campaign alleged that Clinton had framed DuMond for rape.[10][11] Prominent among those pushing for DuMond to be pardoned were Guy Reel, author of Unequal Justice: Wayne DuMond, Bill Clinton, and the Politics of Rape in Arkansas; Steve Dunleavy of the New York Post; and Jay Cole, Baptist pastor for the Mission Fellowship Bible Church in Fayetteville, who had championed DuMond's cause for more than a decade on his radio show.[12]

* Huckabee DID NOT let this guy out of prison. This 16 year old CRIMINAL had a 95 year sentence WITH NO PAROLE!!

* Huckabee knocked the sentence down to 40 years upon which he was PAROLE ELIGIBLE!!!!

The PAROLE BOARD, not Governor Huckabee released this guy. This was a separate transaction than the reduction of the sentence.

Just to sold you how much of a political operative Filled Negro is - notice the flow of CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR of the (now DEAD) Maurice Clemmons. His most heinous crimes took place in progressive WASHINGTON state. He was a serial robber in Arkansas. Upon going to WA he assaulted and officer and molested a little girl.

Do any of you, in an effort to APPRAISE THE VALIDITY of my friend Filled Negro and understand his gross bias ever craft YOUR OWN baseline and then measure FILLED NEGROS version of events to what you KNOW TO BE THE TRUTH otherwise?

@grinder -- Prosecutors almost always object. I don't put a lot of faith in what prosecutors say as they're so invested in a case. There are a few who are good about detaching themselves and viewing old cases in new ways but usually they think they were right (after all the prosecutors usually chooses the charges and pushes for a particular sentence in these cases). Do you think a prosecutor wants to hear that the sentence s/he sought and got at trial was an unjust one? There's a lot at stake both politically and morally.

There was a case in TN recently where the guy was proved INNOCENT by DNA and the Supreme Court told the state you must either release him immediately or retry him (very rare that SCOTUS nulls a trial even when it's obvious they usually refuse). The prosecutor kept the guy in prison (he was paralyzed) while he decided whether to retry. Then the prosecutor said he was going to trial (despite exculpatory DNA evidence). Finally after a very long time the prosecutor relented and the guy was exonerated but only after years of knowing the guy was innocent (even having the Supremes toss the verdict) and refusing to admit that they didn't have DNA tests back then and the prosecutor got the wrong man.

Given the utter aimlessness and chaos that's being given to us by the Democratic Party, which has sat here ALL YEAR with one health care bill, Romney's pitch is going to sell very, very well.

I am increasingly becoming convinced that Obama is destined to be a one-term president, just like Jimmy Carter. Well intentioned, smart, ineffectual, and ultimately done in by the Democratic Party, which couldn't organize a two-car funeral.

No one should blame any of this on the Republicans. Obama and his people were pretty good campaigners, but it's becoming clearer every day that they are like the dog that caught the car and don't have a clue as to what comes next.

@grinder -- I could understand your feeling right now but you've been calling Obama a 1-termer from the start. What's changed? And as for Rommel, I mean, Romney, the GOP still doesn't have much cred on the economy considering they destroyed it and all.

The only candidate who could challenge Obama is another democrat and that's not going to happen because they couldn't win without Obama's voters. Maybe an Independent as wealthy as Bloomberg (sorry Dobbs) could do it but the GOP hasn't gotten close to repairing its "brand" damage though there's still **some** time on that. If it got to the point where Obama was really nonviable for a second term Obama might pull an LBJ (doubtful) and let another democrat run in his place. However, instead he'd probably dump Biden as Veep and pull a Hail Mary by putting Clinton on the ticket hoping she'd be able to strengthen his economic message and excite some of the turned off voters and non-voters in the democratic base and those indies who lean democratic (also unlikely but more possible than sitting out).

However, you're putting the cart way before the horse. The reality is that while Obama may have people frustrated with him and the slow road to economic recovery we're on, the GOP is still seen as toxic. IOW, there's no alternative. People will take even a bad or mediocre President Obama over the alternative which is the destructive force of the GOP. And at the rate they're going I don't know if they'll come close to repairing their image before 2012. Rommel's hair can't fix that.

That's not true. Most presidents are two-termers, and that's what I've assumed about Obama. He can still pull it out, but his leadership style is turning out to be so typical of Democratic weaklings of the past.

It's a genuine surprise to me. I thought Obama had more steel than he turns out to have. He's really looking an awful lot like Jimmy Carter. Who, by the way, had more than a filibuster-proof Senate, and more than 290 seats in the House, but couldn't get his programs through.

The only candidate who could challenge Obama is another democrat and that's not going to happen because they couldn't win without Obama's voters

Obama's gonna be renominated, but I'm looking at his style and the substance of his economic plan, and I'm really wondering what the hell will happen in 2012.

The '12 presidential election will depend entirely on economic conditions in the spring of that year, but that in turn will hinge on whether Obama can get a second stimulus through Congress. Given what's probably going to happen in next year's congressional elections, I have a really hard time imagining that Obama will have much success with Congress in the second half of his term.

Look, I'll vote for Obama in 2012, just like I voted for Carter in 1980, Mondale in 1984, Dukakis in 1988, Gore in 2000, and Kerry in 2004. I am as loyal a Democrat as ever came down the pike, but that does not make me an optimist right now.

@grinder -- You're right you said Carter not 1-termer. However, since you've been comparing him to Carter for a while and Carter was a 1-termer isn't that the same thing? What nuance am I missing? I ask because when I hear folks say he's Carter they've meant that Obama is 1 and out. And GOPers, deep in denial of how badly W damaged the brand have been saying (hoping) that since before Obama was sworn in.

If Republicans are in the same place in 2012 they are now then it won't matter what Obama's doing.

As for 2010, what do you think is going to happen? At absolute best case scenario for the GOP they'll only pick up a few seats and I think much of that is overrated. People are dreaming of Mr. Generic Republican but Mr. Bob Farr-Wright Whackanut doesn't poll the same. Once we start seeing real names and platforms then we can decide to worry or not. But again, the GOP is showing serious candidate dysfunction just look at the Tea Party candidates all over and know that like NY-23 they're more than willing to kill their own party's candidate for the sake of purity.

Don't get me wrong, O and democrats have got to get off their behinds but our best friends right now are republicans who like to talk to cameras, people, or otherwise freely express and spread their real political views.

[quote]Nice try, CF. Huckabee's action, taken over the objections of Arkansas prosecutors, enabled the guy's release from prison.[/quote]

Grinder:

Do you see the key linkage in your argument?You now LIKE PROSECUTORS and what they THINK? Since WHEN?

I beg you to disprove anything that I have said.

I WOULD LIKE GRINDER and WHITEBOWIESTEVE to go on the record:

I Grinder/Steve agree that a 16 year old Black man given a 95 year prison sentence WITHOUT PAROLE should keep his 'Black Azz' In The Prison Industrial Complex where others profit off of his detention rather than have a racist Republican govern review the evidence and decide to knock it down to a more reasonable punishment based on the AGE and the proportion of the crimes at the time.

Signed: _________________________

Do you see how WhiteBowieSteve's theories and ideologies are malleable based on the person in question and the political benefit in attacking him?

Neither focus on the antics of Washington State. THEY LET HIM OUT after he assaulted a cop AND molested a LITTLE GIRL.

Notice the strangely few amount of words about this. There are no Republicans in Washington to blame this on is why they are silent.

[quote] Clemmons had already served 11 years in jail at the time; Huckabee said he made the decision in part because Clemmons was just 16 when he was sentenced. He also suggested the sentence was excessive and that a white teenager would not have received such a long jail term.

Clemmons was eventually released on parole. He was later arrested on other counts, including child rape, but went free when prosecutors failed to file charges against him.(Note: In WASHINGTON STATE) He was ultimately killed by police while being sought in connection with the murder of four policemen in Washington.

"It really does show though how sick society has become when we're more interested in the political consequences of an election that's three years away," he said.

Huckabee said Wednesday he wasn't apologizing for his decision in the Clemmons case. He said there were no protests about his court of action, which cut Clemmons' sentence to 47 years, and noted that the parole board is the body that released him.

According to CNN, Huckabee told reporters Wednesday that "You're looking at this nine years later and trying to make something as if I can look in to the future."

"I wish I could have. Good Lord, I wish I had that power. I wish I could have done that. But I don't know how anyone can do it," he added. Huckabee said that "nobody at that point was saying he's a cop killer."

Explaining his decision to grant clemency, Huckabee said he read "every bit" of Clemmons' file.

"And here was a case where a guy had been given 108 years," he said. "Now, if you think a 108-year sentence is an appropriate sentence for a 16-year-old for the crimes he committed, then you should run for governor of Arkansas."

@Anon 11:58, a couple things. First off, I am an "economic determinist" when it comes to presidential elections. If the unemployment rate is improving in the spring of 2012, I think Obama is the favorite in that election. Otherwise, not.

Second, I am looking at Obama and the Democrats this year, and I am vividly reminded of the Carter years, which I lived through. The Democrats are fractured, and Obama is disconnected and aimless. The parallels aren't exact -- they never are -- but it's hard not to make the connection if you were around back then.

I voted for Carter in both '76 and '80. I voted for Obama on '08 and will vote for him in '12. As for next year's elections, I think the Republicans will make gains in both the House and Senate. The so-called "filibuster-proof majority," which is proving to be a joke anyway, looks like it'll be short-lived. If I'm wrong about this, I will be delighted.

@CF, the Seattle Times has extensively detailed the vigorous efforts that WA State authorities made earlier this year to keep Clemmons locked up. They needed the help of AR's officials, who fucked up and lied at several stages. People here tried again and again to keep the guy locked up, only to be thwarted by AR's stupidity.

Clemmons was in fact arrested and jailed in WA State on the child rape charges. The reason he was let out on bail is because AR repeatedly fucked up and lied on their end. WA State authorities were highly frustrated with AR, and the governor has announced that WA will no longer accept any parolees from AR on account of this case.

Clemmons was also under investigation in WA State, but they were never able to prove anything. There was one screw-up here that I know of, which was when a police officer who recognized Clemmons from an artists sketch called a local "Crimestoppers" program to report it, and was told that they already had too many leads. That was definitely a WA State failure, but the overwhelming majority of the failures came from the third world country known as Arkansas.

As for Huckabee, what goes around comes around. It takes a hell of a lot of gall for him to be pointing fingers at the justice system. If he hadn't done what he did, nine children in Pierce County, WA wouldn't be without fathers today. The Republican Party is forever bleating about "personal responsibility." If Mike Huckabee has any complaints, he should file 'em in front of the nearest goddamned mirror, the cowardly asshole.

He used to be my old governor here in the state of Arkansas. I beg his pardon for trying to merge ADH and DHS to save the state dollars. That project was later demerged. What a waste of my tax dollars.

- He could not have known what this man would do after he was pardoned. So...

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